Tourism sector sees 122% growth in January

A Sri Lankan minister said the country’s external sector performance has seen a marked improvement year on year, with tourism fetching $342 million in January 2024, an impressive 122 percent jump from last year.

Speaking in Ruwanwella, his home constituency, Minister of State for Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya was delving into the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s external sector indicators issued mid-week.

Siyambalapitiya said the bank figures show that receipts from tourism had fetched $342 million, which is a 122% growth in January 2024 year-on-year.

The inward remittances from Sri Lankan expats in January 2024 had grown by 5% to $488 million up from $467 million in January 2023.

The Sri Lankan rupee, which had seen a massive slump during the unprecedented economic crisis, had appreciated by 14.6% in January of this year.

The foreign reserves had increased to $4.5 billion in January, up 114% from $2.1 billion in January 2023.

The economy recorded positive growth in the third quarter of 2023 after six successive quarters of negative growth, Siyambalapitiya said.